


Timeworn Vestiges

by Crawlingthroughashes



Category: Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Alternate Universe - Magic, Bluepulse, Confessions, Fluff, Gryffindor Bart, Kissing, M/M, Plot What Plot, Ravenclaw Jaime, Veritaserum, kissing under enchanted mistletoe, time-travel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-09
Updated: 2014-11-09
Packaged: 2018-02-24 13:42:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,131
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2583449
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Crawlingthroughashes/pseuds/Crawlingthroughashes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jaime's gaze flitted from Bart's wide-set green eyes to the object in his hand. Suspended from a tarnished chain was a minuscule pendant with an hourglass affixed to its center. Bart's knuckles were paling from gripping it so tightly, clutching it as if it were his lifeline, or the most precious thing in the world.<br/>"Is that—?"<br/>"A time-turner."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Timeworn Vestiges

The enchanted ceiling twinkled with hundreds of floating candles that cast mini halos around the students, and despite having eaten in the Great Hall for years, Jaime found himself half-expecting wax to drip off then ends of one of the candles and onto his food. That had never happened before of course, but there was still a niggling feeling in the back of his mind as he twirled his fork around his plate. In his defense, he _was_ muggle born and raised, and some aspects of magic were difficult to wrap his mind around.

"Hey, why's he up there? The Sorting Ceremony's already finished." Cassie called out from the Gryffindor table. Her voice, ever cheerful and ebullient, carried even louder than usual in the high-vaulted room. 

Following her gaze to the Teacher's table, Jaime watched as an auburn haired boy, who looked slightly younger than himself, traipsed behind Professor Allen to the stool where the frayed sorting hat rested. The boy's robes were plain black and unadorned; completely missing a House badge and matching tie, and Jaime was fairly certain he'd never seen him before. 

"Who is that?" Tim wondered aloud beside Jaime. 

"No idea." 

"He some kind of transfer student, maybe?" 

Did Hogwarts even accept transfer students? What was the point of switching schools; even if you moved across the globe; you could always apparate, use floo powder or some other means to get to King's Cross Station or the designated area for your school. Letting his fork drop to his plate with a subdued _clang_ , Jaime kept his eyes focused on the front of the room. Professor Allen was gesticulating wildly from below the elevated table, but the 'transfer student' (or whoever he was) seemed indifferent to what was probably an intense conversation. After another few moments, the boy sat on the stool and slipped the hat over his head. It had barely brushed his reddish-brown hair before bellowing, "Gryffindor!" 

At this, nearly the entire student body was craning their necks to see what was going on. Wordlessly, the boy turned to meet the onslaught of questioning gazes, his startlingly green eyes sweeping across the crowd before settling on Jaime's own brown eyes. They held the gaze for just a fraction too long, and Jaime was just contemplating waving at him, when the guy's eyes narrowed, and he ducked his head. Strange. Maybe he just didn't like people watching him? 

The din of chattering voices had died down, but regardless of how the newly sorted Gryffindor had frowned at Jaime, he seemed unfazed by the amount of attention he was receiving. A loud groan rang out as he sidled up behind a seventh-year Gryffindor with a flame of red hair. 

"Hey Wall-man, mind if I sit?" 

"Go right ahead," he didn't exactly sound enthused. 

"Who's this, Wally?" the student beside him wondered. 

"Oh, that's—"

"—Bart Allen."

"Right. He's my—"

"—First cousin once removed," Bart interrupted again. 

"Allen?" Tim whispered to Jaime, "you don't think he's _Professor_ Allen's son or anything, do you?" 

"Beats me, ese." Jaime shrugged, his eyes already wandering back towards Bart. There was something strange about him, although he sure knew how to make an entrance. 

-x-

After Astronomy with Professor Jones, Herbology with Isley, and Divination With Fate, the only class Jaime had left was potions. It was also, incidentally, his least favorite class. After entering the dank dungeon, Jaime surveyed the room of blue-bronze and red-gold ties. While he'd much rather have potions class with Gryffindor than, say, Slytherin, Jaime couldn't say he exactly enjoyed it, either. Ravenclaw was the House that prided its self on academics, yet Gryffindor still usually managed to beat them in the running for the House Cup. It was no secret that Gryffindor had the superior Quidditch Team, and, unfortunately, the Quidditch Cup equaled a lot of House points. The other reason why Jaime didn't fancy potions class was that Professor Allen had made it mandatory that students partner up with people from other Houses. He thought that it was important for Houses to mingle and interact, as it encouraged "magical cooperation." The only Gryffindor Jaime was close with was Cassie, but she always paired with her boyfriend, Tim.

Sighing inwardly, Jaime arranged his potion ingredients on his desk. Maybe he could get away with having no partner. That wouldn't be so bad. And it was the last class of the day. Only forty minutes to go. 

"Alright class," Professor Allen, "today we'll spend the first half taking notes, and the remainder will be spent brewing a simple potion. Take out a piece of parchment and—" 

"Sorry I'm late," a voice called from the doorway. He sounded anything but contrite. 

"Have a seat, Bart," Professor Allen said tiredly. 

"Sure thing, Gramps." 

_Gramps?_ Was the guy-Bart-seriously going to get away with calling Professor Allen that? And why was Bart heading towards Jaime's table? Jaime watched as Bart wordlessly approached him. His Gryffindor tie hung out of his shirt; either he was attempting to make a fashion statement, or he didn't even know how to tie it properly. Most likely the latter. 

After settling into a seat, Bart directed his attention to Jaime, running his eyes up and down his frame. Jaime squirmed slightly. "How's it going, Blue?" Bart asked almost inaudibly, his eyes glinting. Up close, Jaime could make out the faint ring of gold surrounding his pupils. 

"Blue?" Jaime echoed, knitting his eyebrows when Bart's words sunk in. 

Without warning, Bart's hand darted forward, his knuckles brushing against Jaime's collar bone as he fiddled with the Ravenclaw tie. "See? Blue?" 

"Uh, right." Jaime continued to stare skeptically at Bart even after he'd released his tie. This looked like it was going to be an interesting year. 

-x-

"Jaime, are you coming?" Gar asked, running an absentminded hand through the green hair he was currently sporting. The only natural color Jaime had ever seen Gar's hair was a light brown, but because it was constantly changing, it was difficult to tell whether or not that was his real hair color. "The Hufflepuff Quidditch Team auditions are today. Wanna cheer Megan on with me and Tim?" 

"Sure, ese. I could use a break from studying." Jaime stretched slowly, arching his back like a cat as he worked out any kinks, before tucking his Herbology book into his bag. He got the feeling that Professor Isley didn't like him (or anyone) all that much. In fact, the only thing she seemed to tolerate were her plants. "I have to drop my stuff off at my dorm room, but I'll meet you at the Quidditch pitch." 

"Noted." Gar flashed him a toothy grin, before shifting into some form of bird and flying out of the library. 

"Show off," Jaime laughed at the metamorphmagus' retreating form. After he'd gathered up his belongings, Jaime flashed the librarian, Madam Cobert, a hasty smile, and began making his way to Ravenclaw Tower. The corridors were practically deserted, save for the odd student, and even the Ravenclaw dormitory was less vacated than usual. Passing the marble statue of Rowena Ravenclaw, Jaime ascended the stairs to his room, and quickly set his bag down. He was just about to leave when he noticed that his trunk was open. Frowning, Jaime dropped to his knees, and rummaged through the contents. All of his textbooks were accounted for, but his bag of Chicken Whizees were gone. He wasn't particularly fond of the Muggle snack food, but his sister often sent them to him via owl post. "Really Tim?" he said exasperatedly. Next time they went to Honeydukes, he was making Tim buy him something. 

By the time Jaime arrived at the pitch, the auditions had already started, and the players were little more than a blur of yellow and black. It didn't take him long to locate Gar and Tim in the stands, since only about a dozen people had shown up to watch.

"What did I miss?" 

"Nothing really," Tim answered. Gar flicked him in the face with his tail. 

"Megan's already had two assists. I bet she'll make Team Captain this year!" 

"Who was the captain for Hufflepuff last year?" Jaime wondered. 

"It was that sixth-year, Kaldur Ahm, wasn't it?" Gar asked.

Tim nodded. "Rumor is he was going to be appointed Headboy this year, but he was expelled after getting caught associating with _the Light_. They're the worst group of Deatheaters, after _the Reach_. So, Dick's Headboy instead."

"I've heard of the Reach," Gar said, biting his green-tinted bottom lip. "Weren't they abducting people off the streets a while back?" 

"Yes," Tim nodded sagely. "They've been under the radar for a while, though. Minister Tseng's sent half the Ministry of Magic to hunt them down. No luck, though." 

Jaime's brow furrowed in thought. Even the muggle world knew about the Reach. They'd only come into prominence about a year ago, but rumor was they'd been picking people off the streets, muggles and wizards alike. If anything ever happened to his family, Jaime would lose it. It was unlikely he or anyone else he knew would ever get mixed up with the Reach, though, so he cast thoughts of them aside, and focused on the tryouts. 

-x-

Each individual day seemed to drag on forever, but the months themselves blurred together, and before he knew it, it was already December. A heavy layer of snow clouded the Hogwarts grounds, leaving everything bright and sparkling and very, very cold. Even the inside of Hogwarts seemed several degrees colder, and the only upside to the bleak weather was that there was likely to be hot chocolate served with breakfast.

"Come sit," Tim waved Jaime over. He obliged, pulling his billowing robes tighter around himself as he suppressed a shiver. The enchanted ceiling of the Great Hall had hundreds of tiny snowflakes drifting down, like a mini tornado of white glitter. 

"You have mail," Cassie pointed out. She was sitting beside Tim at the Ravenclaw table, her blonde hair tucked behind a festive headband. 

"Isn't it a bit early for that?" Jaime asked, nodding to her dangling candy cane earrings. 

"No way! Christmas is only a few weeks away. There's already enchanted mistletoe sprouting across the school, _and_ we beat Slytherin in the last Quidditch match. That's the only Christmas present I want." 

"Does that mean I don't have to get you anything?" Tim asked. Cassie elbowed him in the ribs. 

After loading his plate with food, and taking a gulp of hot chocolate, Jaime examined his mail. He'd received a letter from Tye, his best friend back home, and a parcel from his parents containing some sweets and a bag of Chicken Whizees. "Hey Tim, you want it?" he asked, holding out the bag. 

"No thanks, I'm not really crazy about them." 

Jaime squinted. "Then how come you took that bag from me back in September?" 

"Uh... What bag?" 

"Like, during the second week of school. I had a full bag in my trunk. Didn't you take it?" 

"That wasn't me. Could've been someone else, though." 

Leaning back in his seat, Jaime frowned. "Uh, yeah, guess so."

"So, are you going to Hogsmeade with us next Friday, Jaime?" Cassie asked. 

"Wouldn't miss it." 

-x-

"You're supposed to mince it," Jaime groaned, "here let me." 

"I was mincing it," Bart protested. 

"Do you even know what 'mincing' means?"

"Uh, doy! It's when you... y'know. Mince." 

"Why are you even taking advanced potions?" 

"Maybe I just wanted as many classes as possible with my buddy Blue." Jaime couldn't tell if he was joking or not. Turning his attention back to the potion, Jaime did his best to ignore the Caucasian teen. Their cauldron was already at a steady boil, and they were only about half-way done brewing their potion, when Bart added something to the mixture that he _clearly_ wasn't supposed to. A tumultuous boom filled the classroom, followed by a cloud of foul-smelling smoke.

Even though his eyes were watering, Jaime could still make out Professor Allen's exasperated expression. "Mister Reyes. Please see me after class. You too, Bart. The rest of you, finish up your potions and clean out your cauldrons. Have a safe weekend at Hogsmeade," he added as an afterthought. 

Crossing his arms over his chest, Jaime dutifully ignored Bart, despite the stream of apologies issuing from his mouth. "How was I supposed to know it would explode? I only added like a sprig of..." his voice trailed off as Professor Allen reemerged from the storage room. 

"You two are going to clean up every inch of this classroom, and scrub every vial, cauldron, and beaker until they're spotless. Usually I like to make my detentions a little more creative, but at least this way you'll be doing something useful. And before I forget, five points from Gryffindor and Ravenclaw, since you seem to be too inept to follow proper safety instructions."

"Professor, I was planning on going to Hogsmeade with some friends," Jaime began, but Professor Allen just shook his head. 

"If you manage to clean up quickly, you might have time. But until everything is spotless, you'll stay here." With that, he exited the dungeon, leaving Jaime and Bart alone. 

"Well this is not crash at all," Bart sighed. "I mean, how exactly are we supposed to clean this off?" he asked, gesturing to a fetid, puke-green residue that was coating the inside of a semi-transparent flask. Jaime didn't dignify his question with a response and instead began cleaning. It was slow, tedious work, and Jaime passed the time inventing ways of getting Bart back. 

"Ugh. I'm so hungry. Do you think we'll make it to the feast in time?" Bart didn't even seem all that bothered by the fact that Jaime was ignoring him. "I'm seriously wasting away, her-man-oh!" 

"Bet you've never gone longer than five minutes without food," Jaime sighed. 

"Oh, you'd be surprised," Bart's voice came out soft, bordering genuine sadness, an emotion that seemed out of place on his face. In another second, though, his frown melted into a grin. "Ah hah! I've got us covered." With that, he retrieved a foil bag out of his backpack. 

Jaime almost didn't give the bag a second glance, but it featured a logo he knew all too well. "Chicken Whizees? Where did you get those?" 

"Oh. Um. I just, you know, found a spare bag." 

"Have you had them before?"  
Bart was silent, but his expression gave it away. 

"You stole those from my dorm room, didn't you?" Jaime said slowly.

"The Wizarding world doesn't have Chicken Whizees, freeze-dried or otherwise. How else was I supposed to get them?" 

Jaime's mouth opened and closed like a loose hinge, partly amazed that Bart had fessed up so easily. "But... when... _How_ did you get into the Ravenclaw tower?" 

"I'm good at solving riddles," Bart said with a shrug, "Gryffindor is much more difficult to enter; if you don't already know the password, you'd be stuck guessing for quite a whie." 

"How did you even know where the Ravenclaw tower is? This is your first year at Hogwarts, isn't it?"

"Yup. I'm what you'd call a 'special case.' And it's not hard to find. We Gryffindors are very..." Bart paused, as if searching for the right word. 

"Resilient?" Jaime supplied. 

"Exacto-mongo. Resilient." 

"Forget I asked." Jaime cast his gaze heavenwards as he'd often seen adults do. 

It was another good hour before they'd finished cleaning, and by then, Jaime was just relieved to escape the dungeons and the musty smell they possessed. 

"Well, that wasn't too bad, was it?" Bart asked through a mouthful of Chicken Whizees as he followed Jaime out of the room. 

"Nothing like serving detention for something I didn't do and missing the first Hogsmeade trip." 

"Hey, well, look on the bright side. I'm sure a lot of fights and stuff happen at Hogsmeade. And there are rumors that the Reach are planning on targeting the village. At least nothing bad happened?" 

"Whatever. I'm going to go to my room and check on Khaji Da," Jaime muttered. 

"Khaji Da? Is that, like you're pet?" 

"Yes," Jaime said warily. 

"Oh, cool. What is he? The standard pets are cats, owls, or toads, but I heard you're allowed to have some other types." 

"Khaji's a scarab," Jaime said, not entirely sure why he was still talking to Bart. 

"Oh. Crash. Hey, did you know that pets can be cursed? And sometimes the curse can be transferred to their owner?" 

"No offense, ese, but don't you have anywhere else to be?" 

"Right, right. I'll just, um..." 

Rolling his eyes, Jaime took a step forwards, but some sort of magical barrier sent him flailing backwards. He latched onto Bart's arm for purchase, and managed to regain his balance. "¿Qué? Why can't we... oh." Directly above him and Bart was a festoon of mistletoe that was blooming and curling further across the ceiling. Jaime thought distantly of when Cassie had told him that enchanted mistletoe was being placed throughout the school. 

"What is that?" Bart inquired, the light from the hallway torches giving his green eyes a golden gleam. 

Fighting the flush off his cheeks, Jaime muttered, "mistletoe." 

"What's 'mistlytoes?'" 

"Mistletoe," Jaime corrected. 

"Okaaaaaay," Bart said slowly, drawing out the word so that it was several beats longer. "And what exactly does that mean?" Jaime shot Bart a dark look, but he merely held up his hands. "Hey, we don't have misstoe where I'm from." 

"It's enchanted," Jaime spoke through his teeth. "We can't leave until we," he almost choked on the word, "w-we _kiss_." Bart's eyes grew comically wide, and Jaime would've laughed had the situation been different. That being said, he definitely did not want to kiss Bart. He could hardly tolerate him for more than a few minutes, and he'd just been stuck in detention with him. Mind you, he didn't exactly want anyone else to find him and Bart in this position.

"Is there, like, a spell to get rid of it?" 

"I don't know, Bart, did you learn any charms specifically made for getting rid of magical mistletoe?" 

"What about 'incendio'?" Bart asked, carrying on as if he hadn't heard Jaime. "Maybe we could just burn it?" 

"You're not setting it on fire." 

"Why not?" 

"You already caused an explosion in potions class, do you really want to burn Hogwarts to the ground?" 

"Point taken. Oh, you know who's really afraid of fire? That seventh-year, Megan, who's really good at memory charms." 

"How do you know that?"

"I do my research. And Garfield told me." 

"You're friends with Gar?" 

"'Course."

"Right. Now back to the, uh," Jaime gesticulated wildly in lieu of words. 

Bart thought for a moment. "I'm all out of spells, Blue. You know any?"

"Ah, I dunno. Maybe... _depulso_." Jaime waved his wand with a flourish, but the white light of his banishing charm dissipated the moment it made contact with the mistletoe. "Great." 

Bart's voice dropped an octave, and he raised a shoulder as if he was shrugging. "We could just kiss, you know." 

_"What?!"_ Jaime blanched at his words, trying to determine if he was serious. 

"Ooh. Ouch," Bart fake-cringed. "I'm hurt. Seriously though, I can't be _that_ bad at kissing, and I really don't want to stay here all night." Jaime felt his heart start to pick up, though he wasn't quite sure why. He began wracking his mind for an excuse, but Bart seemed to take his silence as an invitation. He all but launched himself at Jaime, his arms immediately wrapping around his neck. A noise of surprise escaped Jaime, and, unsure of what to do with his hands, he placed them on Bart's side, about to push him away. Except the kiss wasn't chaste, like he'd expected, and he was too shocked by the way Bart was kissing him to properly react. Bart was a fast kisser, and what he lacked in finesse, he made up in enthusiasm. A tongue darted out to trace Jaime's lips. A jolt of shock ripped through him at the feel of Bart's slick tongue, and his mouth dropped open in surprise. Rather than pulling away when Jaime became non-responsive, Bart slipped his tongue into Jaime's mouth. _Dios mio_. That was a lot of tongue. Jaime still didn't move. It felt like seconds, but it could've been minutes, when Bart finally pulled away. The mistletoe had vanished. 

"W-why?" Jaime's brain didn't seem capable of forming any other words. 

Bart shrugged nonchalantly. "I told you I wasn't a bad kisser." 

"Have you had a lot of practice?" _Wait, what?_ Why had Jaime just asked that? 

Bart smirked. "Nah, but it wasn't bad for a first kiss. See ya around, Blue." Jaime raised his fingers to his lips, where the faint taste of Chicken Whizees lingered. 

-x-

Jaime was just on the brink of sleep when he heard a voice say, "Lumos." Bolting upright, Jaime turned to face the direction of the voice.

"Tim?" he asked groggily. "Why're you still awake?" 

"Sorry. I didn't mean to wake you. I'm just reading." 

"'s that the Daily Prophet?" 

"Uh huh. A group of muggles in Star City have gone missing. People are speculating that the Reach may be behind it." 

Rubbing the sleep from his eyes, Jaime murmured, "but people go missing all the time. Why would they—?"

Tim held up the newspaper, revealing a moving photograph of someone carrying a Reach drink. "One of the abductees was drinking Reach peach. They've started selling them to small urban communities. The ministry is already testing the formula for any possible additives or curses." 

"Bart mentioned the Reach earlier today."

"Bart? As in that Allen kid?"

"Yeah," Jaime yawned out. 

"Do you two hang out a lot?" 

"Why do you ask?" 

"Just curious. Gar said he asked about you, you know." 

"Okay?" 

"Any thoughts on that?" 

"Uh... I dunno. He never shuts up. I bet he's asked about everyone." 

Tim shook his head, grinning to himself. Jaime was too tired to question him, so he pulled the covers up to his chin and rolled over, before being enveloped by sleep. 

-x-

Usually Jaime spent his Christmases home in El Paso with his family, but he was swamped with studying for midterms, and because he wasn't allowed to practice spells outside of school, he decided it would be easier to stay at Hogwarts for the duration of winter break. And it wasn't like Christmas was going to be a disappointment; the Great Hall was lined with elaborately decorated Christmas trees, and the torches hanging in the corridors had been magically altered to change colors like the Christmas lights muggles used. The only thing that would have made it more enjoyable is if more of his friends had opted to stay behind for the holidays, but Jaime was fine just hanging out with Gar. 

"Up for another game of Wizard chess?" Gar challenged. 

"As fun as losing another game sounds, I think I'm going to head off to my room. I want to get a bit more study time in before the feast tonight." 

"I guess I'll just go find Megan. She's probably making out with Conner under the mistletoe." At the word 'mistletoe,' Jaime felt his face grow hot. "See you later, Blue." 

Jaime's embarrassment evaporated at once. "Blue?" he questioned. To his friends he'd always simply been 'Jaime' or, if Khaji Da was with him, 'that weird Beetle kid.'

"Oh, sorry, I'm used to hearing Bart call you that." 

"Do you two talk about me?" Jaime asked slowly. 

"Sorry, Jaime. Brocode." 

"Of course." Shaking his head, Jaime meandered towards his dormitory. When he arrived, however, the light was already on in his room, despite that his only roommate, Tim, was away. Whipping his wand out, Jaime brandished it in what he hoped was a menacing way. "What are you doing in my room?" he demanded. 

The figure visibly tensed, before slowly swiveling to meet him. 

"I was looking for something." 

"Sure you were." 

"I was, I swear!" 

"Then what were you looking for?" 

"Oh. Um. I'm not sure, exactly. Honestly though, I wasn't—" 

"You know, you're really lucky that I don't report you to Dick." 

Bart's face scrunched up in confusion. "Dick?" he repeated, his eyes darting to Jaime's lower half. 

"N-not that kind of... I meant Dick as in Dick Grayson. The Headboy." 

"Oh," Bart actually sounded flustered. Jaime felt a warm satisfaction surge through his chest upon seeing Bart so chagrined. The feeling was short-lived, however, and ended the moment Bart added, "you know, I'm not as fond of _that_ idea." 

Clearing his throat, Jaime asked, "so, are you going to tell me what you were really doing here, or are you just going to leave?"

"Hey, hey. I just, uh, wanted to check up on you. We haven't really had an opportunity to talk since, the mistytoes." 

"Mistletoe." 

That's what I said." 

"So you thought you'd check up on me in my room when I wasn't even here?" 

"Exactly." 

"You know you've had plenty of opportunities to talk to me in the Great Hall." 

"Well, it was more convenient to right now. Since I was on my way to the kitchens for a snack, anyways." 

"Mmm," Jaime nodded slowly. "You realize the kitchens are by the Hufflepuff dormitory, right?" 

"Oh. Well, thanks for the directions. I'll be on my way then." 

Jaime chewed on his lip, unable to stop himself from blurting, "you know you're not being very subtle about this." 

" _Subtleaboutwhatnow?_ " 

"Your crush on me." 

"You think I have a crush on you?" Bart's disbelieving tone caused Jaime to falter. 

"Don't you? I mean, Gar said you asked about me, and I know you've been following me around. Not to mention that you made yourself at home in my room." 

"I... I gotta go." 

With that, Bart was gone, leaving Jaime in equal parts confused and mortified. Despite this, the thought that Bart could get into Jaime's bedroom whenever he wanted to stuck with him for the rest of the night. 

-x-

The only class Jaime had with Bart was potions, and first day back after winter break, the red-haired teen was nowhere to be seen. He'd been avoiding Jaime for over a week, and while it bothered Jaime for reasons unbeknownst to him, he certainly wasn't going to seek him out. 

"Today we'll be brewing Amortentia, the most powerful 'love' potion in existence. But despite its title, Amortentia can not replicate love, and instead causes obsession and infatuation. While under its effects, the drinker of the potion will be able to think of little else than the person they believe themselves to be in love with," Professor Allen orated.

"Hey Tim," a Gryffindor Jaime didn't recognize whispered. "Is that how you got Cassie to go out with you?" 

"Oh, shut up." 

"In a way," Professor Allen continued, "this makes it the most dangerous potion in this room. If brewed properly, it should smell like whichever scents you are most attracted to. You may begin." 

Some of the steps were a bit hard to follow, but Jaime ended up finishing with over five minutes to spare. Curiously, he leaned forward and inhaled deeply. He was instantly hit by a wave of cinnamon that conjured up images of Champurrado, a chocolate and cinnamon based drink that his abuela used to make for him. There was another scent underlying it; one that smelled similarly to mint toothpaste. Growing up, Jaime had wanted to be a dentist, because Milagro had always been afraid to get her teeth done, and he didn't want anyone else to feel that way. He'd also liked the idea of helping people feel confident about their smiles. Since finding out he was a wizard, becoming a dentist had become little more than an afterthought, though he supposed in a way, it was a childhood dream that had always stuck with him. Jaime breathed in another lungful of he Amortentia. It smelled like safety, and warmth, and he could detect the barest hint of Chicken Whizees, despite that he'd always turned up his nose at the artificial scent. It didn't smell so bad now, though he couldn't piece together why he was supposedly attracted to the smell. 

After class had ended, Jaime wove through the corridors, taking a less crowded route to the Great Hall, when he found Bart staring blankly at a window. His hands were playing with a gold object that Jaime couldn't make out from this distance. Jaime risked a few steps closer, and when Bart still hadn't noticed him, he stared fully and unabashedly at him, and as stalkerish as that sounded, he couldn't help feeling entranced by him. The Bart in front of him now had hunched shoulders and drawn eyebrows, as if the weight of the world was resting on him. He looked like an entirely different person than the cheerful, persistent Bart Jaime knew. There was also the fact that Jaime had never seen Bart display any semblance of sadness, yet he was crying now. they were silent, elegant tears, just thin streams of liquid leaking out of his eyes. Jaime thought distantly of how his sister Milagro cried; how her entire face scrunched up, and her tears were usually punctuated with sobs. 

"Bart," Jaime called out softly, against his better judgement. "Are you okay?" 

Bart flinched, and the object in his hand clattered to the floor. Jaime quickly dropped to a sitting position to pick the small object up, examining it curiously as he did so. Bart snatched it back almost immediately and Jaime's eyes widened in surprise. He tried to form his lips around the word "sorry," (though he wasn't entirely sure why he was apologizing) but no sound came out. 

Jaime's gaze flitted from Bart's wide-set green eyes to the object in his hand. Suspended from a tarnished chain was a minuscule pendant with an hourglass affixed to its center. Bart's knuckles were paling from gripping it so tightly, clutching it as if it were his lifeline, or the most precious thing in the world. "Is that—?"

"A time-turner. I used it to come to the past, so that I could stop you." 

"Stop... Bart, what are you talking about?" 

"But I couldn't," Bart's voice was tight with emotion. "I couldn't do it. I should have used the killing curse on you the moment we locked eyes in the Great Hall, but I couldn't. I was too afraid. At first, when you stared at me, I thought you knew. I thought somehow, you just recognized me, that you knew why I was here." 

By now, Bart's voice was almost hysterical. "Bart, hermano, you're not making any sense." 

"I'm a time traveler. I traveled from the year 2056 to now so that I could stop you. In my timeline, you go by the name 'Blue Beetle,' and you're the biggest, baddest dark wizard in history. Some point in time you join forces with the Reach. You overthrow the Ministry of Magic, starting with Tseng Dangun. Muggles become treated like slaves, guinea pigs for you to test new curses on. The Wizarding world isn't any better off." Bart's words hit Jaime like a heavy poison that dragged at his veins. 

Forcing his writhing stomach to still, Jaime said evenly, "No offense, but I'm not sure I believe you." 

"Headmaster Wayne didn't either. But I showed him my time-turner; he knows how impossible they are to obtain, so he agreed to let me enroll here, knowing I clearly had something important to do." 

"But, you said Wally was your cousin, and Professor Allen is his uncle."

"Barry's actually my grandfather. He died before I could meet him."

"If all this is true, why didn't you kill me?"

"I couldn't. I couldn't kill you because you're so kind and caring, Blue, you honestly have no idea... You even put Hufflepuff House to shame, that's how crash you are. I realized early on that there was no way you'd voluntarily become evil, so I began checking your room for dark magic or cursed objects, anything that could turn you evil. In the future, you still have Khaji Da, so I thought maybe the Reach cursed him. That's why I was in your room, I swear. But then you caught me, and you accused me of crushing on you, and I realized that I was. I am. Jaime when I'm around you I _mmph_!" 

Jaime's not sure why he thought it would be a good idea to cover Bart's lips with his, but in his defense, he'd never been good at receiving compliments, and there were worse ways of shutting people up. After tilting his head for a better angle, Jaime realized that Bart's breath tasted like Chicken Whizees. That was why the Amortentia had smelled like it; he wasn't attracted to the smell of the food; but rather to the smell of Bart. 

In between gasps for air, Bart stuttered out breathlessly, "You smell just like it."

"Like what?" Jaime panted. 

"The Amortentia. I saw Barry before class to see what I was going to miss. I was to embarrassed to face you. He showed me the Amortentia, and it smelled like you. Exactly like you." 

"It smelled like me?" Jaime repeated. 

"Mmm," Bart made a noise of affirmation. _Dios,_ that was hot. 

"The Amortentia smelled like Chicken Whizees to me. That's what you tasted like when we kissed under the mistletoe." 

"What? It's my favorite snack food." 

"Oh, I'm not complaining." 

-x- 

Bart was a comforting weight against Jaime's side as he scrawled a quick letter to his parents. Feathers littered the owlery, and he had to fight the urge to sneeze. Once Jaime was satisfied with what he'd written, he sent the letter off with one of the Hogwarts owls. 

"Hey Bart?"

"Hmm?" 

"How do you know I'm me? I mean, after everything I've-everything I will do, how can you trust me just like that?" 

Bart lifted his head off of Jaime's shoulder to stare him in the eye. "You're not a monster, Blue. I'd have to be under a confundus charm to think otherwise. But you know, I'd originally planned to spike your morning pumpkin juice with some veritaserum I nicked From grandpa Barry's potion cupboard. See if it it'd make you reveal all your evil plans to conquer the Wizarding world." 

"You never did, though." 

"I never did." 

"You can," Jaime said with a incremental frown. "If you want to." 

Something imperceptible shifted in Bart's gaze. "Okay," he said finally. "We'll both drink it." 

"You don't have—" Jaime started, but Bart cut him off. 

"Neither do you," he interjected. "But we're in this together. We're Hurrmanohs."

"Hermano is Spanish for brother." 

"Oh, uh, then we are definitely not hermanos! No offense, but I do not get off on incest."

"Then what do you get off on?" Jaime asked before he could stop himself. 

Twisting the lid off the vial, Bart said lasciviously, "Oh you'll find out soon enough." With that, he took a sip, before handing it to Jaime. 

The truth serum worked instantly, but once all of their secrets, and some embarrassing fantasies involving each other, were out of the way, they were able to develop an ask-and-answer system. 

"I don't even care about what happens anymore," Bart said, his voice open and raw. "I don't care if you turn evil, I don't care if we die, or even if the world becomes moded. I don't care because," his voice came out thin before tapering off, "because I-I have you, even if this only lasts for a little while." 

"It won't. It won't just last for a little while," Jaime vowed. "I'm not even sure how you wormed your way into my heart, but you did. And I won't give you up. We'll figure this out together" 

"Wow," Bart said weakly, "who knew a little truth serum would turn us into such saps?" 

"Oh I knew you were a sap from the... Well, close to the beginning."

"That so?"

"Si. And you know what the best part about beginnings is? That ours is only starting now." 

"Love you, Blue," Bart said honestly, before tugging on Jaime's blue and bronze tie until their lips brushed. They only broke the kiss to watch the fading glow of sunset. As the sun receded into the sky, Jaime noted that there was something amazing about the fact that Bart had come to the past to stop him and to save the world in turn, but now all of that was nothing more than an afterthought to him. They lay there for a while, their limbs so tangled that they couldn't tell whose heartbeat was whose.

**Author's Note:**

> If you enjoyed, feel free to leave kudos/comment on it. thanks for reading lovelies♥
> 
> You can reblog it on tumblr here: http://crawling-through-ashes.tumblr.com/post/102156325835/bluepulse-harry-potter-au-jaimes-gaze-flitted


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